The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is a central government institution responsible for formulating, implementing, and monitoring policies related to public health, medical education, and family welfare in India. It was initially established as the Ministry of Health in 1947 following India's independence. The Ministry's scope expanded over time, and it was renamed the Ministry of Health and Family Planning in 1964, before the two departments were merged in 1995 to form the current Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The Ministry's core mechanism involves developing and executing national-scale programs to improve the health and well-being of the population. It is responsible for the National Health Policy (NHP), with the latest being the NHP 2017, which aims to increase public health expenditure to 2.5% of the GDP by 2025 and achieve the highest possible level of health for all. The MoHFW is composed of the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Department of Health Research. It oversees the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), which provides technical advice and implements various health schemes.
The MoHFW connects to several major concepts and institutions, most notably the Ayushman Bharat initiative, which includes the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the world's largest health insurance scheme providing up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care. It also administers the National Health Mission (NHM), which was launched in 2013 and encompasses the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM). The Ministry also publishes the Indian Pharmacopoeia through the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) since 1955, setting standards for drugs and healthcare devices.
A recent change occurred in November 2023, when the government decided to rename the Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) as 'Ayushman Arogya Mandir' with the tagline 'Arogyam Parmam Dhanam'. Furthermore, the Centre is set to rename the overarching National Health Mission (NHM) as the Pradhan Mantri-Samagra Swasthya Mission (PM-SSM). The Ministry's fundamental role in policy formulation, regulation, and implementation of health and family welfare programs remains constant.